Introduction to Essential Gear and Items for Your First Gravel Bike Purchase
A must-read for anyone who already owns a gravel bike!
Gravel bikes are characterized by their bulky tires. Here, we introduce recommended air pumps, hand pumps, and tubeless kits that will make your ride more comfortable.
1: Floor Pumps
2: Portable Pumps
3: Tubeless Kits
1: Floor Pumps
Until now, high-pressure pumps for road bikes were the mainstream, but recently, high-volume pumps for gravel bikes and MTBs have appeared.
The tire pressure for most gravel bikes is around 2 to 4 Bar. Old-fashioned high-pressure floor pumps are not necessary.
This SPORT GRAVEL DRIVE is a high-volume pump with a maximum pressure of 7 Bar. It can inflate thick tires such as 700x38C and 650Bx47C with fewer strokes.
This is more than enough! It's an air pump that's gentle on both your bike and your body.
Price: 8,580 yen (tax included)
2: Portable Pumps
Punctures are a common occurrence during rides. The most difficult part of repairing a puncture is the final air refill. If you want to refill the air as easily as possible, you need a high-volume portable pump.
We recommend Topeak and Lezyne.
This pump is 25cm long and fits in a frame bag. The maximum pressure is 4 Bar, making it the most suitable portable pump for gravel bikes. Naturally, it can refill air with fewer strokes.
Price: 5,610 yen (tax included)
An aluminum hand pump with a maximum pressure of 6 Bar. It has a hose that extends from the main body, designed to prevent damage to the valve.
Price: 4,488 yen (tax included)
If you've bought a gravel bike, you should get one of these.
3: Tubeless Kits
Why not go tubeless? With high-volume tires like 700x38C and 650Bx47C, going tubeless will improve ride comfort. Without inner tubes, the tires roll more lightly.
Most complete bikes have tubeless-compatible rims and tires.
By purchasing the three items: rim tape, valves, and sealant, you can easily convert to tubeless.
Let's check your tires and rims.
(Tubeless compatible ○, Not tubeless compatible ×)
・Tires ○ + Rims ○ → You can go tubeless by purchasing rim tape, valves, and sealant. It's preferable if the tires are almost new.
・Tires × + Rims ○ → You can go tubeless by purchasing tubeless-compatible tires, rim tape, valves, and sealant.
・Tires × + Rims × → You can go tubeless by purchasing tubeless-compatible wheels and tires, rim tape, valves, and sealant.
When choosing the width of your rim tape, measure the outer width of the rim.
There are many types of tubeless-specific valves. Install ones where the valve core at the tip can be removed to replenish sealant. Recently, some valve caps also double as valve core tools, so these are recommended.
Many of the stock tires that come with complete bikes are knobby.
If you want a lighter ride, slick tires without grooves or blocks are recommended. TERAVAIL's RAMPART is a popular slick tire.
Teravail tires are easy to convert to tubeless, so you can easily do the work at home.
If you're unsure which tires to choose, go for TERAVAIL RAMPART.
If you've bought a gravel road bike but haven't gotten anything yet, please refer to this guide.
Be sure to buy the essential air pump first.